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Olga Karamalak puts the finishing touches on a Mother’s Day flower arraignment at Relles Florist in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Florists are among the retail businesses that Gov. Gavin Newsom said might be eligible to open before the ... more >

Nothing is stronger, more resilient or more beautiful than the American mother.

This weekend, as we celebrate Mother’s Day, take a moment to give silent (or joyously loud) thanks to the women who, family in tow, helped build this country. The American mothers of today — irrespective of race or creed, and whether or not they are cognizant of the fact — are their hardy descendants. The indomitable spirit of the American mother once fueled our growth. Today it will provide vitality to our rejuvenation.

The spirit of the American mother was evident in 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia, as she tended to her young. Weather was extreme, food and water unreliable, and the viability of the colony — and thus their very lives — was always, in those early years, in question. Death surrounded her in a way unimaginable today. The temptation to give up must have been immense. And yet the American mother persisted loving and nurturing her family.

The spirit of the American mother was evident during the Revolutionary War, when the future of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, in this land at least, was uncertain. As their husbands (and often young boys) went off to fight the British, they supported the war effort at home by inaugurating a “Made in America” mentality through the homespun movement, ensuring British goods received no financial support. The war lasted almost a decade. At more than one point it seemed if all would be lost. And yet the American mother persisted loving and nurturing her family.

The spirit of the American mother was evident during World War II, as women, often with children dangling on bended knee, supported the relief effort. They demonstrated their support through clerical work and through factory work. They drove trucks, sewed up the wounded, worked as codebreakers. They did everything men did, and they did it with children. Things looked dark, indeed, during these years. And yet the American mother persisted loving and nurturing her family.

The spirit of the American mother was evident immediately after 9/11, as many women were widowed, their husbands having lost their lives during the horrific terrorist attacks, or sacrificed all as first responders and during the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. These mothers raised families alone. This meant multiple jobs and long nights staying up with crying little ones. Exhaustion. Depression. And yet the American mother persisted loving and nurturing her family.

This spirit lives on. And if you take a second and look around, you’ll notice it.

The American mother is still in the factories. She now helps the coronavirus relief effort by manufacturing masks and much-needed medical supplies. She is still, as she has been during any crisis involving life and death, on the front lines in the hospitals and ambulances. She is teaching your children remotely. She is working the cash register at your grocery store, bending over the hot stoves for your carry-out, and breaking her back in the Amazon warehouses.

Some American mothers are out of work. Some are now taking care of multiple generations. Some — far too many — stay up all night wondering how to provide food for the family.

Today, it has become sadly fashionable, at least in some media and elite social circles, to scoff at the notion of motherhood. Children just hold you back, they say. The family is a tool for male oppression, they say. They say, you know, so many things.

And yet, through it all, the American mother is still loving and nurturing her families. And she will continue to do so until there is no more America left.